


burned in a feathering pyre

by Lise



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Divergence - Thor (2011), Gen, Heat Stroke, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Originally Posted on Tumblr, POV Thor (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 09:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14871353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lise/pseuds/Lise
Summary: When Thor is cast down to Earth, Loki falls with him. The two of them walk together through a desert.The thing about deserts is all the heat.





	burned in a feathering pyre

**Author's Note:**

> Professional enabler [Lena](http://portraitoftheoddity.tumblr.com) is once again responsible for this one, originally posted on Tumblr a little less than a year ago. Yes, I am only just now getting around to crossposting it, what of it? 
> 
> If you're curious about the other stuff I've posted on Tumblr and not here, check me out [over there](http://veliseraptor.tumblr.com). It's a constant adventure for everyone involved, including me.

Thor woke up to Loki slapping him across the face.

“Now look what you’ve done,” he hissed. “Look where your reckless idiocy has gotten us this time!”

Thor sat up, groaning. Memory swam in slowly - he’d been in Jotunheim, then on the Bifrost, bloodlust high and shouting at his father - at the  _All-Father._ Oh, Norns. He looked around and saw blasted scrublands, sun beating down on his shoulders. His armor was gone, and he felt weak. Thirsty.

_You are unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed,_ Thor remembered, and turned to stare at Loki.

“You…what have you done?”

“The mortal crime of attempting to defend you,” Loki snapped. He stood up with only a slight wince, looking upwards. “I  _did_ tell you how monstrously stupid of an idea it was. Going to Jotunheim-” His voice hitched oddly, and he cut off. Thor shook his head and stood up.

“Heimdall!” He shouted. “Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!”

Loki wheeled on him. “Do you not understand the concept of  _exile,_ Thor? We’ve been cast out of Asgard, until such time as the All-Father should decide we have learned our lesson.”

“What lesson?” Thor asked blankly.

“Damned if I know,” Loki growled. “He did not see fit to inform me.”

Thor still felt…dazed, confused. This could not be happening. This was not the sort of thing that  _happened._ Odin could not truly have…he did not mean it. And Loki…

Glancing over at Loki, who was pacing back and forth and muttering under his breath, Thor felt a twinge of guilt. “Well,” he said. “I suppose we ought to…find the inhabitants of this place. Learn where we are.”

“I already know where we are,” Loki said. “Midgard, in the middle of a desert.”

Midgard. That was good news, at least relatively. Midgardians were weak, and few of their native creatures were dangerous. Thor nodded with some relief. “Then there will be some humans about.”

“In the middle of a desert? I doubt it,” Loki said nastily. Thor turned on him.

“Then what do  _you_ suggest, Loki? Or will you just naysay all of my suggestions without offering any of your own?”

Loki opened his mouth and then closed it. He made a sharp, sullen gesture. “Fine,” he said. “Lead on, then.”

Thor turned in a slow circle, looking for any sort of landmark, but he could not see any difference in the landscape to suggest one direction over another. “We shall go north,” he said finally, refusing to let his uncertainty show. “We cannot be so isolated as that. Our father would not leave us to perish in a wasteland.”

“You think,” Loki said darkly, but when Thor gave him a sharp look he pressed his lips together and would not explain further.

* * *

The walking was hot, and miserable, and Thor was beginning to realize the true magnitude of what had been stripped from him. His power and strength, yes, but also his endurance and resistance to the elements. He could feel his skin burning under the glare of the noonday sun overhead, sweat pouring down the back of his neck. He was thirsty, and hunger had begun to gnaw at him.

If he was suffering, however, Loki appeared to be faring even worse.

Thor glanced back at where he was lagging behind, and stopped. Loki lifted his head and stared at Thor, jaw set.

“What?”

“You don’t look well,” Thor said worriedly.

“You flatter me,” Loki said flatly. “I am not overfond of deserts.”

Thor smiled faintly. “You have always hidden indoors during summers as though you fear to melt.”

For some reason those words made Loki blanch. He dragged himself upright. “If I had my sorcery I could draw some water from this damned ground,” he said. “Well, Thor? What have you stopped for? I would rather not linger here longer than necessary.”

Thor hesitated, but he didn’t know what he could do other than turn and keep walking. The sun was on its way down, at least, and the temperature beginning to cool.

“Did our father truly banish you simply for speaking in my defense?” Thor asked.

“Odin All-Father is not overfond of dissent,” Loki said flatly. Thor frowned at his feet.

“It seems unjust that he should do so,” he said.

“Questioning the All-Father’s wisdom? Isn’t that what got you into this mess in the first place?”

“I am sorry, brother,” Thor said after a pause. “I should not have asked you to join me.”

Loki was quiet for a long time, and Thor’s heart sank. “What is done is done,” he said finally. “There is no use regretting it now. I made my own choices, Thor, and I am the one who must live with them.”

* * *

They walked through the night. To Thor’s relief Loki seemed to regain some of his verve after dark fell and the temperature dropped, though he still seemed to be breathing harder than he should be. If they were not out of this desert, or did not find shelter, before the hottest part of the day, Thor resolved that they would have to stop and find some means of succor.

Within a couple of hours of sunrise, it became clear that they might not have that long.

Lost in thought, trying to sort out what lesson his father might be seeking to teach, all Thor heard was a muffled thump; when he looked back, Loki was on his knees and retching. Thor turned and hurried back, crouching down next to him to pull his hair back away from his face. His face and neck were hot and red, and he moaned, flinching from the brush of Thor’s fingers.

“Dammit,” he said hoarsely. “Norns -  _damn_ him and his wretched sense of-”

He doubled over again, gasping.

“Loki,” Thor said with alarm. “What is it? The heat?”

Loki laughed raggedly. “I do not. Like deserts.” He licked his lips and grabbed onto Thor. “Help me up.”

Thor frowned. “We should stop. Rest. Perhaps if we dig down there will be some water-”

“Not close enough.” Loki’s breathing was quick and shallow, his hold on Thor’s arm alarmingly weak. “I need to get out of this - pit of Hela’s realm.” He squinted at Thor. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Thor said slowly. “But…”

“No, you do not,” Loki interrupted, sounding disgusted. “You never do.” He scrubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. “Help me up.”

Thor wavered. The sooner they were out of here, the better for Loki. But…he felt a flash of anger at his helplessness. If he had his strength, or Mjolnir…

“If you fall again I will carry you,” Thor said, trying to make it sound like a threat and not a promise. Loki rasped a weak laugh.

“I suppose I had better not fall, then.” He pressed his hands to his temples and sucked in a breath, letting it out. “An adventure. Just like old times, eh, Thor?”

Thor tried to smile, but it felt weak. Loki’s eyes were blurry, out of focus. His brother was strong, but without his magic Thor feared this might be too much for him.

Surely their father would not put them in real danger, though. Surely he would not…

Thor pulled Loki to his feet, trying to be gentle. Loki staggered and half fell against Thor, panting.

“I wonder if I will melt,” Loki said, sounding almost drunk. “What happens to ice when it’s struck by lightning, Thor?”

“You are not making any sense,” Thor said, his stomach lurching uneasily. Loki sighed.

“I knew you would go,” he said. “To Jotunheim. I meant for you to do it. But not to actually…Heimdall should never have let you pass. The guards should have caught up to us.”

Thor jerked. “Loki - what are you saying?”

“My fault,” he said. “You should never have been there.”

Anger and confusion roiled in Thor’s chest. Loki seemed to be saying he had manipulated Thor into that disastrous trip to Jotunheim and all it had led to. “Volstagg was hurt,” he accused. “Fandral was  _stabbed._ ”

“I know.”

Thor stared at Loki, suddenly feeling as though he was looking at a stranger. But then it was his brother again, listing against his side and breathing like his throat was full of sand. His neck, when Thor touched it, burned as with fever.

“We will discuss this later,” Thor said. “For now…we need to move on.”

Loki pulled away from Thor, looking for a moment as though he would fall, but he turned his back and began walking without saying another word. After a long moment, Thor followed him.

* * *

They went another mile before Loki stumbled again, collapsing to his knees and retching violently. He was shivering when Thor knelt down next to him, his head bent forward and his back heaving with labored gasps. “My lungs,” he said. “It burns. Thor. I’m burning.”

“Loki-” Thor’s words strangled. He’d seen Loki go sick with heat before, but not this badly, and there were always healers and cold compresses to see him back to health. Thor had nothing. Loki retched again and all Thor could see in the bile he brought up was more precious liquid they didn’t have to lose. Thor’s own mouth felt dry and his skin was raw and sensitive.

“Thor,” Loki gasped, sounding almost desperate. “I let them in.”

Thor blinked. “What?”

“The Jotnar,” Loki said. “I let them in. To the vault, during your coronation. I wanted to - it doesn’t matter. I told the All-Father and that is why - that is why he banished me.” He giggled, sounding half mad. “I’m a traitor.”

Thor felt his eyes widen, staring. “Loki,” he said thickly. “This is - you are confused. Your fever-”

“No,” Loki interrupted. “I needed you to know. I should have told you before, but I was - I am afraid.”

Thor did not know what to do. Did not know what to  _think._ That Loki had done such a thing - done such a thing to  _spite_ him - was monstrous. But that was past, and what was now was Loki shaking and feverish, babbling about treason and fear.

“I’m going to die,” Loki said, with sudden, harsh conviction, and Thor’s heart stopped. “That’s what - that’s the lesson. Isn’t it, All-Father? Get rid of - get rid of your traitor and punish your heir, but it doesn’t matter, does it, I know,  _I know-_ ”

“Loki, hush,” Thor said, trying to soothe him. “You are sick. But we will get out of this. Our father is not trying to…this is a test, but we will pass it. You’ll see.”

Loki slumped. “I cannot stand,” he said.

“Then I will carry you,” Thor said.

“Don’t,” Loki said. “You’ll just…tire yourself faster. Give me a little while to rest. Just…a little while.”

Thor hesitated, then moved, stripping off his tunic and draping it over Loki’s head and shoulders. “Very well,” he said. “A short rest. Then we will move on. Together.”

Loki curled up on the ground and didn’t answer, breathing with his mouth open. Thor stared at him, trying to understand.

* * *

Thor woke Loki after what he guessed to be an hour. Loki whimpered when Thor dragged him to his feet, but he pushed Thor away and insisted on walking on his own. “If I die I am going to die on my feet,” he’d snarled.

“You aren’t going to die,” Thor had snapped back, and Loki had grinned at him like a death’s head and not responded.

They staggered along, Thor walking slowly so Loki could keep up, glancing at him as often as he dared, waiting to catch him and this time ignore his protests. The sun was almost at its height when Thor saw it and cried out.

“A town!” He said. “There-” and pointed. It was still a long ways off yet, but in sight, and the relief he felt brought new energy to his limbs. He turned to be certain Loki had seen it and saw him sprawled limply on the ground, twitching and jerking like a marionette. Thor cried out and lunged for him, turning Loki on his side and calling his name.  _Close, so close, hang on-_

Loki shuddered with an awful, rattling sound. His skin seemed to melt away, a wash of color sweeping to replace ash and burnt red. Cold, blue flesh appeared under Thor’s hands, ridged with strange patterns, and Thor could just see red through slitted eyelids.

He jerked back with a cry of horror and confusion, at first thinking  _no, impossible, when could a frost giant have replaced my brother,_ but no, he knew Loki’s features and no change could fully mask them: nose, chin, the shape of his brow. His brother’s face with jotun skin. This was some cruel trick, it had to be.

( _It explains why he has been suffering so much, doesn’t it?_ The cold logic of the thought horrified him. And on its heels:  _did he know? How, how could this be, how could my brother-_ )

_What happens to ice when it is struck by lightning?_

Thor’s hands hovered over Loki’s skin, fearing to touch, remembering how the Jotun’s touch had burned Volstagg’s arm. He seemed very still, breathing shallowly and fast, though at least the fit seemed to be over.

“Loki?” He said uneasily. He remembered Loki saying  _get rid of your traitor_ and felt an uneasy lurch. Surely his father must have known, if this was not some kind of horrible trick, but why…

_Why?_

Loki’s eyes were open (his red, red eyes, and Thor had to fight not to flinch back) and he was looking at Thor, blurry and dazed but focused enough.

“Well,” he rasped. “You see it now.”

Thor shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I,” Loki said, and laughed weakly, humorlessly. His head lolled to the side and Thor reached out without thinking to catch it, surprised to find that while Loki’s skin was cold it didn’t burn.

He wondered if that was the fever.  _I wonder if I will melt._

“It’s impossible,” Thor said. “It cannot be…you cannot be…”

Loki closed his eyes. Thor could see his hearbeat racing in his throat, rabbit-quick. “I wasn’t sure,” he said, his voice hushed. “But now I am. I think…I think this is what he wanted. For you to see. Thus endeth…”

He trailed off. His inhale rattled.

“ _Loki,_ ” Thor said, his confusion forgotten in the face of fear, because he didn’t understand but this was his brother, still  _somehow_ his brother and he was…was  _dying._

“So what now, Thor?” Loki asked, his voice barely audible, his eyelids fluttering half open and then closed. “Will you finish it?”

For a moment Thor didn’t understand. Then he remembered,  _the Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they once feared you._

_Father! We’ll finish them together!_

Thor felt sick. “No,” he said. “ _No._ ”

Loki’s eyes closed. Thor tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry as bone. He turned back to look over his shoulder toward the blurry outline of the town ahead.

He gathered Loki and hoisted him into his arms. The cold of his skin numbed the burns on Thor’s arms, and Thor almost laughed at the gratitude he felt. Who would ever have thought that a prince of Asgard would be  _grateful_ for the touch of a Jotun?

Not  _a Jotun,_ Thor thought. Made himself think.  _My brother. Loki is…he is…_

“Thor,” Loki said. He sounded so pitifully  _young_ it made Thor’s heart wrench.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s me. We’re almost there, brother. We’re almost there.”


End file.
